UFL Extends Many NFL Dreams

On Wednesday night, the Las Vegas Locomotives trounced the New York Sentinels, 41-10, to remain in contention for a berth in the UFL Championship Game on Nov. 27.

While the game wasn't all that compelling -- nor was it, shall we say, must-see TV -- it was an important night for many on the field. The UFL concludes its season just in time for players to join NFL clubs for their stretch runs.

Charles Davis, a tight end for the Sentinels, views his UFL opportunity differently, remarking as if he searched for the gig on craigslist.

"I didn't have a job and I love playing football, so that was probably the draw for me," said Davis, who is pictured right as a fifth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006.

Fair enough. The league, though, hopes for a much higher profile despite everything stacked against it.

The four-team UFL, in its inaugural season, has been overshadowed by a crowded sports slate. The Sentinels, especially in New York's October and early November, have been an afterthought.

The symbolism could not have been more stark Wednesday, when the Sentinels staged their second home game -- this time, at Hofstra's intimate James M. Shuart Stadium, where there was an announced crowd of 4,392.

Just a few miles away in the Bronx, the New York Yankees celebrated their record 27th World Series title at the massive new Yankee Stadium.

It was likely that Davis and David Lofton of the Sentinels couldn't have cared any less. The duo, without mentioning the Yankees specifically, told FanHouse in exclusive interviews that both had more important things to tend to Wednesday -- their careers and dreams.

"It's hard to give up football when you've been playing for so long," said Lofton, the son of Hall of Fame wide receiver James Lofton, speaking at the team hotel on Tuesday. "Any opportunity where you can keep playing, most players will jump at it."

"I'm gonna just ride this as long as I can and play football as long as my body allows me to. We'll see what happens."
-- Sentinels TE Charles Davis on His Future After the UFL SeasonAnd that, more than anything, is what it has been about for the UFL, which has yet to experience commercial success, though Lofton would argue that its existence is more about the players than anything else.

"I haven't heard from anybody in the NFL," Lofton admitted when asked if exposure in the UFL has put him on the NFL's radar screen. "It's always been an aspiration. I'm just cherishing every day that I get to strap the pads on."

Yes, the UFL can lead to the fulfillment of NFL dreams. No, that's not all the league's about.

A Stanford graduate, Lofton said that he plans to go back to school to get his master's degree. He left college with a degree in Urban Studies, though he's determined to make football work out for fear of having to "work in an office."

It's a legitimate concern for a lot of these players, many of whom were drafted into the NFL in the fourth round or later but subsequently failed to stick on NFL rosters or practice squads.

Some played major college football, some didn't. All, however, are looking for their chance -- one that may come thanks to the UFL's considerable NFL connections. Look no further than Sentinels coach Ted Cottrell.

A defensive coach in the NFL, USFL and college ranks, Cottrell began his career as defensive line coach at Rutgers in 1973. He had to wait until this season with the Sentinels for his first head coaching job.

The years of hard work paid off, something that many of his players can learn from. In the meantime, they just hope to benefit from knowing the veteran coach.

"The football network definitely has its large wings," said Lofton, whose father has had to give him advice -- and a bit of a networking boost -- from afar while doing work for Westwood One radio's coverage of Sunday Night Football.

"A lot of guys on the team have had experiences with coaches on this staff. In the past, coaches may have had
players in camp that they like. Now, they have a chance (in the UFL) to bring them in and get them on the field of play."

That alone is the difference between the UFL and other alternative leagues, including the USFL, which tried to compete with the NFL for top draft picks. Steve Young and Herschel Walker were among those that cashed in with an alternative league right out of college.

The UFL, in contrast, is not looking to invade the NFL's territory. Instead, it hopes to be a complement, a league that the NFL can use to better evaluate players who are on the brink.

"We're a start-up league, obviously, we don't have the budget that the NFL does," Davis said. "We make the most of what we have. The football is good, and we have players that, if they haven't had NFL game experience, they've been right on the cusp. We have a competitive league."

Davis, who played collegiately at Purdue, described the players in the UFL as a group that is "itching, fighting, scratching and clawing" to get into the NFL. The UFL, for its part, may be doing the same to carve out a niche in the minds of sports fans.

According to Davis, players in the UFL can't be concerned with anything but what is going on in front of them.

"Obviously, you'd like it to be full but, when you get out there, you don't really notice," Davis said when asked what it was like to play in front of 70,000 empty seats on Oct. 29, the Sentinels' first home game at Giants Stadium.

"We are a league that is just starting up and we're competing against a pretty powerful corporation. We just want to show that there is more talent (than just in the NFL) out there."

So, what if NFL teams do not agree? What is there to do if the UFL does not work as a stepping stone to bigger and better things? It's an outcome that most players have yet to consider.

"I dont know yet," Davis said sincerely. "I'm gonna just ride this as long as I can and play football as long as my body allows me to. We'll see what happens."

Ironically, that's exactly what the UFL is saying.